Monday, July 22, 2013

Guest Post - Sunday's with Charlotte

Today my go-to-food friend Charlotte wrote a post for the blog! She explains why and gives you a peek into her Sundays and the treats she decided to make. Why she didn't share any of the actual food with me is another story... 

Hope you guys enjoy! Charlotte will be back every now and again. 
- B  

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Do you ever think… "Hey I should start writing a blog!" 
then immediately think, " No that is a terrible idea and you should do that never."

Well, I have about a zillion times. And in all truthfulness, 90% of the time I just forget that I want to do it. The other 13% is the terrible idea thought. Soon this will become a reality. If Julie (of the Julie/Julia Project) and Jenny (indomitable blogger, TheBlogess.com) can do it, fuck it, so can I! My life is way too weird to only be shared with the blessed few who know me. 

So I'm Charlotte. I'm a friend and fellow insane foodie to my man, Brittany. Insane in personality and about food, in case you were wondering. I love literally almost all food, except boxed mac & cheese and liver. I keep trying but no cigar. Oh well. So today is Sunday and I use Sunday as my relax-and-get-your-shit-together day. All my slow cooking and bulk cooking is done on Sunday. I tend to putter (the best word for it) around the house and clean dishes, cook in the Crock Pot, laundry, take the pup on long walks, make dirty dishes, and generally wander around.  

TODAY I'm awesome because I was inspired by the magnificent, mind-blowing Mark Bittman and his TEDtalk about being a vegetarian and food sustainability in America. I've loved him since I started reading the NY Times Dining section. He has this passion about food that makes you what to go out and change the world with an extraordinary baguette. I also was feeling inspired (read: overwhelmed) by the amount of stuff in my fridge. My significant other/partner forever/pain-in-my-ass Cory and I went major grocery shopping last week because we were a bit on the broke-face side for the last month or two. Nothing does wonders for your grocery shopping drive than HAVING to eat Cup-o-Noodle. 

Today I have made: Cauliflower Buffalo Wings and Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip, Asian Vegetable Pancake with a Fried Egg, Roasted Rutabagas and Sweet Potatoes. I have NOT made: kale chips even though I've been planning/needing to do it with my bushels of kale. I feel super put together and have done a ton of crap, however as I write it it sounds less impressive. But instead, I made bacon! Sorry, Mark Bittman. I tried to be veggie today but the bacon wins again. I'm such a disappointment. On the the other hand I did use some kale in the roasted rutabaga and sweet potato taco. Soooo…. win/win. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
  • 1 head Cauliflower
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 3/4 cups Flour
  • 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder (or whatever seasoning you like)
  • pinch of salt & pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Butter
  • 3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
Super easy. Pull apart the cauliflower in to florets. Mix the milk, flour, and seasoning and throw all the cauliflower into the batter. Pull each floret out and shake off the excess batter and place it on a lightly greased cookie sheet. stick in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. until cauliflower is done. It won't be golden brown. in a large bowl heat up the butter and Frank's Red Hot then throw the cauliflower in. and toss to coat. If you like, here is my inspiration and step by step pictures at http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2012/12/cauliflower-buffalo-wings/.  


Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip
  • 1 1/2 small containers of plain greek yogurt
  • 1 package dried ranch spices
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
Mix everything and chill for an hour. (Super hard.)

Asian Vegetable Pancake with a Fried Egg
  • leftover batter from Cauliflower Wings (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
  • little bits of cauliflower and broccoli that fall off (about 1/2 cup)
  • Sriracha to taste
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 green onion, cut on the bias

 Mix all ingredients except the eggs. Lightly grease a non stick skillet and pour in batter. Flip over when the bubbles on the top, just like a regular pancake. Put it on a plate and re-grease the skillet. Fry both eggs on the same pan(yay less dishes!) then put on top of the pancake. Top with more chopped scallions and Sriiracha. (Sorry there's no pic. I was hungry.)


Roasted Rutabagas and Sweet Potatoes
  • 1 cubed rutabaga
  • 1 cubed sweet potato
  • 1/2 bag of baby carrots
  • 1/2 onion, quartered
  • 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt & pepper
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning mix (if it has salt in it take out the salt above)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 

You can add or substitute any root vegetables you like (potatoes, beets, etc)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients.. Pour into a 13x9 pyrex and cover with foil. Put in the oven for 45 mins to an hour, until the vegetables are tender. Uncover and put under the broiler for 2-3 minutes tip tops are crispy.  Top with parsley.






1 comment:

Anonymous said...

charlotte - can/t wait to try the rutabega & sweet potatoes & when your man comes home depressed from some drama of the day, I am in favor of some crispy bacon in the veggies & after dinner a reasonably small bowl of chocolat ice cream & of course no talk of chores - easing the day from your mom peaches